Chapter 502

the translation will continue from where it left off:

가고자 하는 길은 내 스스로 개척해야 한다는 것.

“3, 2, 1! Fight!”

카운트다운이 끝나고 관중들의 함성이 터져 나왔다.

마나를 집중시켜 무기를 강화했다.

히로유키도 일본도로 강력한 공격을 준비해 나왔다.

“하아아아!”

그의 첫번째 공격이 휘몰아쳤다.

펀치처럼 강한 충격이 날카롭게 느껴지며, 나는 그를 피하기 위해 몸을 숙였다.

“무시하는 건 좋지 않아!”

그의 목소리가 귀를 찔렀다.

나는 신속하게 방향을 튼 다음 반격의 기회를 노렸다.

“여기서 끝이 아니라는 걸 보여줄게!”

내가 약간의 공격을 가했지만, 히로유키는 방어 태세를 유지하며 역으로 발을 돌려 반격을 시도했다.

그렇지만 나는 그 즉시, 나의 민첩성을 활용해 그의 공격을 피하고 강하게 내려치는 검으로 반격했다.

“응!”

이 싸움은 단순한 힘싸움이 아니라, 제 자신의 한계를 시험하는 것이었다.

중심을 잡고 있는 히로유키를 보며, 나는 내 안의 열정을 끌어올렸다.

두 제스처가 서로를 향해 급속도로 다가갔다.

“이제 시작이야!”

나는 정면에서 그와의 싸움을 이끌어가며 전방의 발전을 느끼고 있었다.

모든 것이 내게 유리하게 작용하는 것 같았다.

히로유키의 얼굴에 놀라움이 스친 순간, 마치 커다란 파도가 밀려오는 듯한 긴장감을 느꼈다.

그가 방어에 집중하던 자세를 흐트러뜨리면서 내 공격이 그의 방어를 뚫었다.

“내가 이길 거야!”

그 순간, 히로유키의 눈빛이 달라졌다.

앞으로 나아가는 것만이 해답이 아니라는 것을 그는 깨달았다.

“너무 아만가?”

그의 반격이 시작되었다.

이제 서로를 향한 공격과 방어가 교차하며 한 순간도 긴장을 늦출 수 없는 상황이 되었다.

“이럴 수가!”

관중들의 환호성이 더욱 커져갔다.

나는 이 기회를 놓치지 않고, 다시 한번 결합의 힘으로 집중했다.

하늘을 향한 마나의 힘을 느끼면서, 마지막에 꼭 승리할 것이란 결연한 의지를 다졌다.

Isn’t it the opposite? Is the Zhuge Liang of this world a bit arrogant in style?

I lightly channeled mana into the hilt of the sword I was holding, which was in the shape of a hilt.

Wuwu—

A sharp silver blade was drawn out.

The basket hilt of the Schiavona wrapped around my hand like tree roots.

Tilting the sword at an angle, I caught sight of a girl filled with joy.

<[Prêts?]>

Chok-!

We both took our stances simultaneously, fiercely squeezing out our aura hearts and beginning to warm up.

“10, 9, 8!”

We entered a realm where we transcended the limits of humanity.

The body could no longer exist as a body, and the brain dominated all areas of the body.

“3!”

I hid the Schiavona-transformed sword behind my waist.

“2!”

Simultaneously, I lowered my left hand, while Narita placed his right hand on the ground.

“1!”

In an instant, dopamine surged, my tongue felt dry as I moistened my lips.

<[Allez!]>

Tatadadak-!

Narita, whose leg movements were concealed by his hakama.

As soon as the match started, he trampled on the grass and charged forward with intensity.

The style of the Narita school, which inherited the Northern Advance One Sword Style.

A white aura surged from the sword, falling from above.

[Casting: Black Aurora – Semi-Neutral Release]

I completed the Black Aurora in less than two seconds.

I didn’t evade or move.

I simply stood the sword horizontally and blocked the strike with one hand.

Pajijijijik-!

The swords clashed, an immense energy exploded, and black sparks flew.

My hair, raised in volume, spread out in different directions as if in a state of microgravity.

It was a difficult technique, but I wasn’t particularly flustered; it felt rather trivial.

I swung my sword and stabbed towards Narita’s abdomen.

He easily evaded my attack and pulled his body back.

“It’s my turn, right?”

“… Whenever you want.”

Oh, my casting might be a bit fast; are you confident?

I extended my left hand to inscribe a magic circle.

I performed the fastest casting of three stages—’Create-Save-Cast’—with double casting.

Narita opened his eyes wide, layering his sword with cancellation spells.

[Casting: Cancellation]

Cancelled.

[Casting: Inertia Tensor Cancellation]

Cancelled.

[Casting: Ignis Explosion-]

Cancelled.

Before completing the magic circle, I withdrew my mana and prepared another spell.

“Uaaaaaaah! You fool, what the hell are you doing! Are you messing with me?”

Narita was moving his sword back and forth while taking a defensive stance on his own.

As I gauged whether to cast magic or not, he exploded in rage.

‘Isn’t it unreasonable for me to waste my mana casting spells while he’s on the defense already? Logically speaking, isn’t that right?’

With his bloodshot eyes, Narita quickly rubbed his forehead with his arm.

How dare he let his guard down in front of me?

[General Casting: Illusion]

“…!”

In an instant, Narita, who had let his guard down, opened his aura heart.

It was a good judgment to temporarily thicken his aura for defense.

While maintaining the illusion magic, I performed a triple casting of a 4th circle spell.

[Conjuration – Niobium]

[4th Circle Casting: Glacius Asta]

As I anticipated, his movements became passive, and Glacius Asta was unleashed.

I divided the niobium pellet into ten pieces and loaded them to fire with a railgun.

Kwahwahwahwahwang-!

Ruthless bombardment fell in the stadium.

Amidst the bombardment, the katana drew a dizzying line.

Six missed, three were deflected, but one hit his calf.

The hakama had a nice clean hole.

However, the damage was not great compared to the mana I had expended, which left me feeling disappointed.

Narita, with his ponytail unbound, calmly moved his eyes this way and that.

He was trying to calmly distinguish between what was an illusion and what was not.

“It’s useless. You’ll never find me.”

“Haha! You’re just using tricks because you’re not confident in your sword.”

“Hmph, as if that’s the case.”

I activated the Black Aurora again and picked up the sword.

[3rd Circle Unique Magic: Ignis Respiccio]

A blue flash burst forth from the tip of my sword, racing through space.

Narita Hiroyuki sheathed the katana back into its scabbard.

As the aura gradually gathered in the scabbard, it began to glow blue.

‘Could it be that he’s attempting that ridiculous sword technique? Really?’

That improbable concept snatches you. What a lunatic obsessed with this idea.

“Ahaaaaa!”

Kiyikiyikiying-!

The sound of nails scratching a chalkboard erupted.

Ignis Respiccio was cleaved in two, slamming into the walls of the training hall.

But thanks to that, I bought some time.

I poured aura into the sword and leaped towards Narita.

[Imperial Palace Sword Method 14th Style – Cutting the Earth]

Kwahhhaang-!

Cutting the Earth, which had finished off the Odukjae in the Academy vs. Tournament.

It was a foot then, but this time it was a sword.

“Grrrhh… Ahh!”

With great difficulty, Narita managed to block it, gritting his teeth as he pushed back the sword.

He sealed the movement of my sword with his armpit and stabbed my right shoulder.

Pachin-!

“Ha!”

It was the moment to focus more on the offense than on defense.

Having used Black Aurora, I had to risk taking damage and enter an attacking stance.

Stepping with my left foot, I pivoted on my right foot.

[138th Style – Waterfall Cut]

Twisting my wrist to the limit, I wielded the sword to target his flank.

Chingchingchingching-!

Sparks flew as metal clashed against metal, attacks and counters exchanged back and forth.

The swordplay continued.

[270th Style – Rooster Slash]

In close range, we engaged in a struggle and exchanged blows.

In the dozens of engagements, we didn’t blink once.

I concentrated to the maximum, finding the optimal path for the sword to exist.

Kang-!

The paths crossed when the two unexpectedly met, creating a cheerful metallic sound.

Kang-! Kang-kang-kang-!

He also seemed to be blessed with the sword and knew the route thoroughly.

[389 Mode – Celestial Alignment]

When the distance grew, he responded with a thrust.

Shwoosh-!

The thrust hit my abdomen through the crossed blades of Naita’s dual swords.

However, with a sneaky smile, he brought his sword down towards my neck.

Bang-!

My barrier shattered and my throat swelled red.

I rolled several meters across the ground.

Once again, I stepped onto the dual swords and regained my stance.

“Hmph.”

I didn’t like the overconfident posture of the boy.

I checked the scoreboard to see the status of our barriers.

[Round of 64 Group I Match 2]

[#2 Hiroki Naita (Japan)] [71% | 80%]

[#4 Unspecified (South Korea)] [74% | 95%]

With a difference of 3%, it’s still too early to relax.

“Are you already tired, kid?”

“No. I’m just getting warmed up.”

He rolled up his sleeves and cracked his neck.

The match moved into the mid-game.

I needed to solidify a clear advantage before halftime.

Regaining my stance, I cleanly rotated my aura.

[18 Mode – Crescent Slash]

The Schiabona slashed toward Naita.

It seemed like the sword would be blocked again, but…

Thud-

An exquisite sound that shouldn’t have occurred from a clash of metals emerged.

The Schiabona lodged itself directly into the boy’s katana.

‘So this is it then.’

The secret technique of Hiroki Naita that Love Kim fell for.

Weak Sword.

Strangely, Naita’s katana, which took the essence of “weak,” was as soft as clay.

Moreover, its surface was sticky, like it was coated in honey.

The sword elongated once more and struck my abdomen fiercely.

Bang-!

Once again, I was pushed backward helplessly.

I corrected my Schiabona and charged at him with all my might.

[475 Mode – Root Snapping]

I aimed for his ankle with a slide, but he easily jumped over my decisive attack.

I tried it just in case, but this clearly won’t work.

Though left defenseless, Naita wasn’t hasty in his movements.

He kept glancing around, aware of something.

“When are you planning to use your illusion magic?”

“Oh, so you were worried about that. Hmm.”

“Why are you laughing?”

“Actually, that’s all a bluff, my friend. You were deceived, weren’t you? Look, I was right. You will never be able to find it. Just admit it already.”

I showed him the illusion magic circle that had changed to black and white and ceased functioning.

There was a reason he had been acting so passively until now.

I clutched my stomach and burst into laughter. Oh, this is truly funny.

Hiroki Naita’s face turned red with anger.

“You’ll regret saying that, kid. Heh.”

He gritted his teeth and gripped his sword with both hands.

Muscles twitched like a beating heart, and a mountain of aura gathered, forming a blade.

Woo-oo-oong-!

With nothing left to torment him, it seemed he was about to unleash his full power.

Standing tall in the center of the stadium, Naita released all his strength.

I stopped laughing and calmly gripped my Schiabona.

“Who said you could laugh like that without permission?”

[Spell: Demon Lord’s Horn]

I created wings extending from my back with a foreign manifestation.

Flutter-

Using a single flap to propel myself, I charged at an incredible speed.

Each step on the grass increased my speed.

Right now, I was faster than a greyhound.

Naita leaped back to match my speed.

“That’s a dead end!”

“? Who would fall for such an obvious lie—cough!”

In the center of the stadium, where no obstacles could be found, Hiroki Naita’s body flattened against an invisible wall as if he crashed into it.

“Wonderful, stay just like that!”

I maximized the output of the Black Aurora.

At the high energy level, the mana and aura merged at the tip of my sword until they became indistinguishable.

Shwoooosh-

[5 Mode – Dragon’s Heart Thrust]

Kuaaaag—!

The aura contained within the Schiabona exploded violently.

The preceding impact caused lightning to fall in a chain reaction, adding more damage.

With a violent noise, the sword finally ceased its advance.

Naita lay crumpled on the ground in a disastrous state.

He lifted his head, confused as to what had hit him.

“Why…”

We were at the very edge of the stadium.

No matter how much aura one used, a superhuman couldn’t leap several meters in a single bound.

I gave a hint to the dazed boy.

“Illusion magic. It worked well, didn’t it?”

“…!”

“I subtly shifted the entire stadium during the earlier illusion barrier. Just a bit at a time, without you noticing.”

I had skillfully absorbed the strikes just enough for him not to doubt and moved the battlefield to the edge.

“Surely the illusion…”

[Spell: Illusion]

The magic circle was functioning perfectly.

“Was the magic circle turned off?”

“…”

“Of course, that too is a lie. Heh.”

“You crazy girl…”

With just a single strike,

40% of Hiroki Naita’s micro-particle barrier evaporated.

“How does it feel to get hit? After working so hard, just one shot ruins everything. Isn’t that absurd?”

The halftime flag was raised.

I linked my fingers together and stretched before returning to my own side.

[Round of 64 Group I Match 2]

[#2 Hiroki Naita (Japan)] [29% | 71%]

[#4 Unspecified (South Korea)] [62% | 92%]

“Yawn.”

A yawn escaped involuntarily.

It wasn’t because I was bored, but managing the illusion magic circle while swinging my sword drained a lot of mental energy.